Steadying device for pistols



5 June 17 1924.

E. W. SAUNDERS STEJADYING DEVI E FOR PISTOLS Filed Oct. 12 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOE fiii i fiTToE/vl z June 17 1924.

E. W. SAUNDERS STEADYING DEVICE FOR PISTOLS Filed Oct. 12 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN l/EN r02- fdward W fiauna erj HTTOENEKE Patented June 17, 1924. J

EDWARD W. SAUNDERS, OF STILOUIS,

s'rnanyine DEVICE FOR PISTOLS.

Application filed October 12, 1923. Serial No. 668,131

T cell whom-it may concern:

Be .it known that I, EDWARD V. SAUNDERS, a citizenof the. United States, residing at St. Lonis,-l\'iissouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Steadying Devices for Pistols, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make anduse the same.

This invention relates to devices of the fillet-are used for steadyinga pistol or otherfilie of a similar nature while it is aimed and edmain phject of. my invention is to provide ;a de iricethat will convert a pistol into a firearm which is practically as efiicie'nt as a rifle. V V

Another object is to provide a pistol steadying device which is sovconstrncted that theuuser,canholdhishead in an upright position- -,with; tl 1e.-pistolgrasped in one of his hands in thesame manner asa pistol is .usually held while it'iis being. aimed at an object. Another object is to" provide a pistol steadying. device that is. adapted to be btaoedagainst .the chest'of the user and which is soiconstructed that it tends to hold the.barrel of the. pistol stationary and in approximately; horizontal alignment with theeyeof the .l ser,

Another v object is. to provide a pistol steadying' device of the character just referredto, which is also equipped with a back that is arranged in close proximity to theeye of thenser, thus producing a rela-. tively long; sight base, and consequently enabling theuse'rto aim the pistol accurately and hold, it. steady when the trigger is pplledl.

,Andstillfanother object is to provide a collapsible steadying device for pistols that can be folded compactly when itisnot in use andwhichcan be moved into its extended condition and locked, during the. operation of raising the pistol into firing position.

I other objects anddesirable features of my invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

- Eigure lot the drawings is a side elevatienalview. illustrating my improved pistol steadying-dea ice arranged in operative posii a.

Eignre2j is an enlarged longitudinal sec tional view ofsaid device, showing it in its exten ed condi i Figure 3. isjatop lan view of said device, pantlmbrolgen away, showing the main member of the device collapsed and the back sight folded down.

Figure 4; is a view, illustrating the device collapsed and mounted on the body of the user.

Figure 5 is a top plan view, illustrating another form of my invention; and

Figure 6- is a side elevational view of the device shown in Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings. which illlis trate the preferred form of my invention, A. designates a member that is adapted :to be arranged in a substantially horizontal p0 sition with its rear endbr'aced against the chest of the person using the device, 13 d'e's-. ignate's, a pistol'suppor'ton said membei' lo cated adjacent the front end of same and so constructed that it will serve as a support for a pistol :1 whose barrel 'isarrang'e'd in substantially horizontal alignment with the eye of the user," and; G -designates a back sight mounted on the member Aadj'aeent the rear end of said memberand" so con structed that a sight opening in same can be arranged in approximately horizontal alignmentwith the front and rear 'sight y and 2- on the barrel of the pistol; The member A, the pistol support B ,and'the back sight C on said member can be formed in various ways without departing from the spirit of my invention, but I prefer to form said parts in such a manner that they can be collapsed and folded compactly enough to produce a device of comparatively smal'ldi: mensions that can be suspended from, a breast piece D connected by straps or other suitable means to the chest of the user.

One convenient Way of constructing the member A is to form it from a numbe'r ot sections 1, 1 and 1 of light-weight metal tubing arranged in telescopic relation witheach other and provided withinterlocking devices that hold the different sections in fixed relation with each other when the member A is extended, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, such, for example, as pins 2 on the end section 1 and intermediate section 1 that project outwardly through elongated slots 3 in the intermediate sect-ion l and inner section 1, each of 'said elongated-slots having a lateral ofi'set latone end ofsame',

so as to form a bayonet joint. If desired; the inner end of the 'pistol support' B' can be pivotally connected to the front end'of the member A in such a way that it can bej folded back and arranged in parallel'relzk tion with the end section of'the member A at one side of same, as shown in broken lines in Figure 3, when the device is stored away and not mounted on the body of the user. In the form of my invention shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 the end section 1" of the member A is provided with a laterally-projecting pin 5 and the pistol support B is pivotally mounted on said pin at such a with the abutment block 7 when the support B is extended, said spring being arrangedinside of the member A and secured at its front end to a cable 9 or the likethat is fastened to the stop 6. The opposite, end

' of the-spring 8 is connected to the rear section 1 of the member A, and as said spring isvnormally in tension, it'causes the sections of the member A to collapse or telescope one within the other as soon as the pins 2 on said sections are disengaged from the lateral offset end portions 4 of the slots 3 in which said pins are positioned.

The pistol support B may be constructed in various ways, so long as it is of such design that a pistol can be easily connected to or disconnected from same. In the form of 'my invention illustrated in Figures 1 t0 3 the pistol support B is constructed from a tubular member having its upper side cut away or notched at 10, so as to permit an attaching device 11 on the lower end of the grip or handle piece of the pistol to be inserted in the notch 10 of the support B and moved longitudinally of said support towards the front end of same, said support being pro vided in its upper side with an elongated slot 12 that communicates'with the notch or cut out portion 10 and the connecting device 11 on the pistol being of such form that when it is inserted in the slot 12 and moved. longitudinally of same into engagement with the inner end of said slot, the pistol -will be held in substantially rigid relation with the support B. As shown in Figure 2, the pistol support B is provided with a resilient retaining element 18 that prevents the connecting device 11 on the hand grip of the pistol from accidentally sliding out of the slot 12 in the pistol support B.

The breast piece D, previously referred to, is preferably combined with the member A in'such a way that the member A can be swung upwardly and downwardly with resitions.

lation to said breast piece, but'will be held at right angles to said breast piece during the operation of aiming the pistol. One convenient way of accomplishing this desirable result is to provide the breast piece D with a horizontally-disposed bar 14 that passes through a hole in the end section 1 of the member A which is of the same diameter as said bar. Vihen the device is not in use the member A will hang downwardly from the 'bar 14, as shown in Figure 4, and when it is desired to aim the pistol the member A can be extended and swung upwardly on the bar 1 1 into a horizontal position. By exerting sidewise pressure on the pistol the member A will shift transversely of the bar 14, without, however, affecting the right-angular relationship between said member and bar. When the device is not in use the member A is prevented from sliding back and forth on the bar 14 by means of a resilient catch 15 on the breast piece D that snaps into engagementwith the end of the member A when said member is moved transversely ofthe bar 14 into one of its' extreme transversepo The back sight Ccan be' constructe d in various ways, but it is preferably pivotally connected at its lower end to a 'lugor bracket 16'on-the top side ofthe inner. section 1 of th member A and is joined by means of a cable 17 or other suitable flexible device to a bracket or lug 1 8 on the intermediate section 1" of the member A. A0

cordingly, when the sections of the membe'r A; are extended the cable 17 will swing the back sight C upwardly into its operative position, as shown in Figure 2 thereby causing the upper portion of the back sight to be automatically positioned between the eye of the user and the sights on th pistol 02. The upper portion 19 of the back sight is preferably constructed in such a way that it can be raised and lowered, and said upper portion is provided with a plurality of sight openings 19 of different sizes and an upper notch sight 19", as shown in Figure 3, any one of which can be used during the operation of sighting the pistol by simply raising or lowering the adjustable upper portion 19 of the back sight.

When my improved pistol steadying device is not in use it is small and compact enough to make it'practicable to suspend it from a breast piece secured to the wearers body. When it is desired to use the device, the user grasps the handle of the pistol and moves it downwardly, thereby causing the sections of the member A to be extended. Said member A is then swung upwardly into a horizontal position. and during this operation the user turns or rotates the handle of the pistol slightly so as to cause the pins 2 on the sections 1 and 1 of the member A to be arranged in the laterally- P member 'A'gln wluclrsald pins slide. lhe

cmiigl biiiidii'sa of the slots in the aboyewperations cause-the back sight t,- to swing upwardly into its operative position, and sthe epistol canthen be aimed at the object being fired at by simply swinging the member A upwardly or downwardly on the rod Ideas-{ant axis and sliding said member on said;rod.transversely of the breast piece, so asto bring the back sight C and the sights y and 2 -on the pistol into longitudinal alignment withi -theeye of the user.

- A pistol steadying device of the construc tion abovedescribedenables a user who has become accustomed to same to shoot a pistol with-almost.thesame accuracy as a rifle, owingito the fact: that the ;;user. can hold hisnhead: inanwupriglrt-;positionwith his eye=in comparatively close proximity to the back Esight 6,: the pistol being firmly supportedeeby the-pistol support B to which theipistol .iSkCQhIlBGtEd. -:The;fact that the.

pistol is inonrotata-blyflmounted on a supportrB -that extends parallel-to a member Aixvhich ,isEbraced against the chest; of the user and :thefact that .the said pistol support is mounted on the: member A in such a mannerathat-a:rearwvard pull on the trigger 0f the .pistol does; not disturb Q the horizont'alelvationlof the pistol, greatly sim plifies the aiming operation, as the only thing the user has to guard against, after the object has been sighted, is lateral movement or transverse movement of the pistol. In addition to the desirable features above pointed out, my device reduces th liability of asoldier losing his pistol when he is in action, due to dropping the pistol while riding on a horse, owing to the fact that the pistol is securely connected to a device which is fastened to the soldiers body.

While I prefer to construct the device in the manner previously described, it is not essential that the member A be formed of a plurality of tubular elements arranged in telescopic relation, or that the various sec tions of the member A be locked together by bayonet joints, for, if desired, the device can consist of a jointed member A comwith the sectlons 100. 100 and 100", respectively, of the member A. bars are arranged at right angles to the bars 100. 100 and 100 at one side of same and are provided ith elongated slots designated by the reference character 104 that mnent with Said locking.

in parallel relationship with saidlsectionsg Said lugs are provided with upturned ends designated by the reference character 105 that prevent the locking bars from becom; ing detached from thesections of the mem her A with which they co-opera-te, ,and'said locking bars are pivotally connected 'to gether by h inges 106. hen it is desired; to collapse the member A, the locking 103, 103 and 103 are moved longitudinally of said member, so as to bring the hing'es or joints 106 of said bars into transversealighthe hinges 101 of the member A. thereby permittingthe sections 1100, 100 and 100. of said member to be foldedyoneuponthe other. Af te'r thesectio nsiof. the member A have been un fold'ed so as't o cittend said member, the locking bars afe moved. longitudinally so as 'to arrange the hinges or joints 106 of sanie 'out of verse al gnment with the, hinges 101 of the member A. In order {till at locking ibaijs, will move automatically into position to lock the sections ofthe member A" when;

said sections are unfolded orqegrtel ded port B. said. spring beingnnder tension when the member A is collapsed, so that it will be in readiness to move the locking bars into operative position and maintain them in such a position as soon as the sections of the member A have been unfolded. As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the inner section 100 of the member A is provided with an eye 109 that is adapted to be slidingly mounted on a horizontally-disposed bar or rod carried by a breast piece that is strapped or otherwise connected to the body of the wearer. When the device is not in use, the member A is maintained in its collapsed or folded condition and suspended from the breast piece on the body of the wearer, as shown in Figure 4. The pistol support B is provided with a slotted tubular member that is adapted to receive a connecting device on the lower end of the handle or hand grip of the pistol, and the section 100 of the member A is preferably provided with a back sight C that can be folded flat against said section 100 when the device is not in use and which can be arranged in an upright position at substantially right angles to said section, as shown in Figure 6, during the operation of aiming the pistol.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A pistol steadying device, comprising an extensible member that is adapted to be braced against the body of the user and provided with means for holding a pistol in a position substantially on a line with the eye of the user, a collapsible back sight on said member, and means for automatically moving said back sight into an operative p0sition when said member is extended.

2. A. pistol steadying device, comprising a member adapted to be braced against the chest of the user, and means for holding a pistol in approximately horizontal alignment with the users eye, said member being composed of a plurality of telescoped sections, a spring that tends to hold said sections telescoped, and devices for holding said sections in rigid relation with each other when said member is extended.

3. A pistol steadying device, comprising a breast piece provided with a rigid supporting member arranged transversely of the users breast, and a pistol supporting member mounted on said supporting member in such a way that it can be raised and lowered and moved longitudinally of said supporting member transversely with relation to the users breast.

4. A pistol steadying device, comprising a breast piece provided with a horizontallydisposed bar, and a swinging member slidingly mounted on said bar and provided with means for holding a pistol in approximately horizontal alignment with the users eye.

5. A pistol steadying device, comprising a breast piece provided with a transverselydisposed bar, a collapsible member pivotally mounted on said bar in such a way that it can be adjusted lengthwise of same, and a support on said member provided with means for enabling a pistol to be detachably connected to same.

6. A pistol steadying device, comprising a member adapted to be braced against the chest of the user and composed of a plurality of tubular sections arranged in telescopic relation, means for rigidly locking said sections together when said member is extended, and a pistol support pivotall connected to said member in such a way that it can be folded lengthwise of same.

7. A pistol steadying device, comprising a member adapted to be braced against the chest of the user and composed of a plurality of tubular sections arranged in telescopic relation, means for rigidly locking said sections together when said member is extended. a pistol support pivotally connected to said member in such a way that it can be folded lengthwise of same, and a back sight pivotally mounted on one section of said member and connected with another section of said member in such a way that it will move automatically into an operative-position when said member is extended.

EDWARD W. SAUNDERS. 

